Six months since the breakup. Same group. Same hangouts.
She’s been fine about it. Cordial. Clean.
You’ve been—less clean. Little comments. Implications.
The group laughs because they don’t know where to look.
She’s absorbed it. Until tonight.
The hangout is comfortable. Loud.
She’s on the couch. You’re across the room.
The usual arrangement. It’s fine.
Until someone asks how everyone’s been. And you smile.
That smile.
“I’ve been great actually. Sleeping so much better. You know how it is. Some people just—”
you glance at her—
“have very demanding energy.”
The group shifts. Slightly.
She picks up her drink. Says nothing.
Twenty minutes later—
someone asks about her.
What she’s been up to.
And you say—casually. To the room—
“Ky? Oh she’s probably fine. She has very specific ways of entertaining herself.”
The implication. Hanging there.
Someone laughs nervously. She sets her drink down. Looks at you. For the first time tonight. Really looks.
You hold her gaze. Confident.
The group goes slightly quieter.
“You know what’s funny.”
She says it. Even. Low.
“Kylien—”
“No. It’s funny. You’ve been telling everyone about my energy. My habits. My—”
she tilts her head—
“specific ways.”
“I’m just being honest—”
“You are. So let me be honest too.”
The room. Very still.
“You’ve been painting me a certain way for six months. And everyone here—“
She stares.
“Has been very polite about nodding along.”
“I haven’t said anything that wasn’t—”
“You called me demanding. In front of everyone. Last month.”
“You ARE—”
“And the month before you told Dre I was—what was the word—intense.”
Silence.
“So let me ask you something.”
She says it. Quiet. Pointed.
“If I was so much. If my energy was so demanding. If I was such a—”
she holds your gaze—
“perv. Was that word used?”
The group. Does not breathe.
You go slightly still.
“I was just—”
“Was that word used.”
“It was a joke—”
“Then here’s another joke. You called me every single night. For two years. You think I don’t remember what you asked for?”
Dead silence. Your face. Changes.
“That’s not—”
“I’m not saying it to embarrass you. I’m saying it because you’ve been standing here for six months making me the story and forgetting you were in it too.”